Aircraft engines are typically supported below aircraft wings by structural elements called “pylons.” Such pylons are subjected to substantial forces and therefore must be securely mounted to their associated wings and engines.
Prior art methods of mounting an engine pylon to an aircraft wing include using various mechanical attachments to attach a top surface or a top spar of the pylon to the wing. The mechanical attachment is generally made of high strength steel to handle the engine thrust loads or rather may require larger joints having more material.
In designing a pylon and determining how to best mount the engine nacelle and pylon to the wing, several factors must be considered, including engine/nacelle placement with respect to the wing (which may make longer pylons desirable), reducing the height of the supporting structure or pylon, and increasing loads at the pylon/wing attachment location. To maintain the necessary vertical stiffness of the joint between the nacelle and the wing while accounting for each of these design considerations, larger joints with more material or higher strength materials are generally used to attach the pylon to the wing and/or the nacelle to the wing, sometimes sacrificing durability of the joint. Larger joints attaching the top surface or top spar of the pylon to the wing may undesirably increase the space between the wing and pylon.